When our teacher said we were going to a potato farm we didn’t know what to think. Maybe it would be fun or maybe it would be boring, but after going to it we learned a lot more about potatoes. We first had to drive there and once we got to the farm there was more potatoes than we have ever seen in our lives! After picking up some potatoes the farmer who was disking with his tractor told us how they harvested the potatoes and what they did with them afterwards. First, they spray the potatoes to kill the foliage. Next, a machine would go through and pull the potatoes out of the ground and chop up anything that was left. He also said that a second machine would take them up on a conveyor-belt to shake all the dirt off, then it would drop it into a truck. When the truck starts to get loaded the driver lets some air out of the tires to make them wider, so they don’t leave such deep tracks. (More surface area) When they are loaded and at the end of the field they fill the tires back up and drive to the cellar (It’s a place that keeps them cool and dry until they can sell them). Finally, he told us that they would get used for French fries at places like Hardee’s and McDonald’s. It was really neat learning about potatoes and picking them too.

When we arrived at the field we were surprised to see how many potatoes were on the ground and couldn’t wait to pick them up. There were small ones, big ones, and weird looking one too. It was fun to go out and find the potatoes like it was a big Easter egg hunt. We ran out of bags and buckets to fill, so we started to fill the back of the bus. We all got to take potatoes home. But best of all we got to eat the potatoes which were delicious mashed, fried or baked. Thank you for letting us salvage those wonderful potatoes!